Approval rates
Comparing a judge's approval rate to broader benchmarks provides a baseline for understanding their historical decision-making. Judge Jones maintains a lifetime approval rate of 49%, which is 4 percentage points below the Buffalo Hearing Office average and 9 percentage points below the national average of 58%. These figures are derived from a docket of 5,495 lifetime decisions accumulated over 5 years on the bench. Aggregate rates describe past decisions, not predictions for your individual hearing.
Office- and national-level breakdowns of fully favorable vs denial rates aren't currently published by SSA in the per-office disposition data. The judge's own breakdown is the detail we have today.
Approval rate over time
Year-over-year approval rate across Judge Jones's docket. Annual rates fluctuate with the mix of cases SSA assigns; the longer-run pattern is more informative than any single year.
Decision pattern
Over her 5-year tenure, Judge Jones has shown a variable approval trend. After an initial 49% approval rate in 2016, the rate fluctuated, reaching 42% in 2018 before rising to 70% in 2020. This pattern suggests that annual approval rates can shift significantly based on the specific mix of cases and evidence presented. The recent uptick may reflect changes in case complexity or the quality of evidence submitted during that period.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge Jones's bench. Judge-specific preparation guidance requires a corpus of public Appeals Council decisions involving each judge, which we haven't built yet.
- Bring a clean treating-physician record. Longitudinal primary-care or specialist notes spanning the disability period, with consistent symptom documentation, are typically the strongest evidence at hearing. A single month's records usually aren't enough.
- Don't rely on consultative exams alone. If your medical evidence is built primarily around a one-time CE finding, expect detailed questioning. Supplement with treating-source statements where possible.
- Prepare for daily-activity questions. Have honest, specific answers about a typical day. Answers that conflict with the medical record (in either direction) tend to hurt credibility.
- Expect transferable-skills probing. A vocational expert will usually testify about jobs available to someone with your limitations. Your representative should be prepared to cross-examine.
Hearing with Judge Jones? Free, confidential — see if you qualify for SSDI.
Free Benefits ReviewAbout the Buffalo hearing office
The Buffalo Hearing Office serves you across Western New York, managing a high volume of disability appeals. With a bench of 6 judges and an office-wide latest approval rate of 53%, this office handles a diverse range of medical and vocational claims. You can expect a formal hearing process where your medical documentation is the primary driver of the decision. You can see the Buffalo (New York) Hearing Office page for the full ALJ roster.
Other judges at this hearing office
The Social Security Administration utilizes a workload-balancing algorithm to assign cases, meaning the judge you are assigned is essentially random. The Buffalo Hearing Office bench consists of 6 judges, with lifetime approval rates ranging from 46% to 54%. Because every judge operates with different preferences for evidence, understanding the office-wide environment is helpful. You can find more information on the office's general operations on the Buffalo Hearing Office page.
Your odds change dramatically with a lawyer
SSDI hearing approval rates — represented vs. on your own
Source: U.S. Government Accountability Office, GAO-18-37. The 3× gap is a population-wide average across all judges; individual outcomes vary.